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The Karen
Dick
The hotel is huge and there are so many people and Dick can’t believe his brothers are bored . He’s sitting between Jason and Tim in the hotel’s lounge, waiting for Damian and Bruce. The two older boys are both in some stage of sleep but Dick is keeping himself entertained by observing all the people around them.
“Where the hell are they, I’m starving,” Jason grumbles, his eyes still closed.
“Language,” Dick says immediately.
“Oh, don’t you start getting all Pennyworth on me,” Jason says. “I’m on vacation and so are my manners.”
Dick giggles and the corner of Jason’s mouth twitches, too.
“Wanna see me do a backflip?”
“Not here,” Tim says quickly and Dick pouts. “You can do all the backflips you want on the beach, I promise.”
“If we ever get there. God, it does not take this long to put on shorts and flip flops.”
“We could play ‘I spy’ while we wait,” Dick suggests.
“That would require me to open my eyes,” Jason mumbles.
“You didn’t have to stay up half the night, you know. You’re on vacation .”
Tim chuckles. “He has a point,” he mumbles.
“Like you were any better.”
“Didn’t say I was.”
“Play with me-e-ee!” Dick begs to stop the bickering before it even starts. Tim and Jason both groan but sit up a little and at least attempt to look a little more awake. “Yay! I’ll go first.” He looks around the lounge, eyes narrowed. “I spy with my little eye…” he starts slowly. “....somethiiiiing… purse?”
“Purse?” Tim repeats. “That’s not how the game is played, buddy.”
“No, look!” Dick says and hops off the couch. “Someone forgot their purse,” he continues when he reaches an armchair a few meters away. “What should I do with it?”
“Take it to the reception. They’ll check if there’s an ID and if they are a guest here,” Tim tells him. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“No, I’m okay,” Dick smiles, shouldering the purse. It’s big enough to be a little heavy but he manages.
“All right, but come straight back. Don’t wander off, stay where we can see you,” Tim says.
“I’m not a baby,” Dick says to which Jason, half-asleep again now that he doesn’t have to concentrate on the game, quietly replies: “Baby-bro.”
Dick huffs and walks off, his brothers’ chuckles following him. The reception has a queue of people checking out and Dick joins it, earning a few amused or confused looks from the adults. He sways back and forth on his feet as the queue slowly inches forward.
There are two people still in front of him when suddenly:
“That’s my purse!”
It’s not a delighted cry of someone who has been looking for it and is glad to have found it. No, it’s an angry scream that earns the attention of most people in the lobby. Dick blinks as a middle-aged woman stomps to him, heels clicking on the floor, hands in fists.
“This is yo…?”
“You stole my purse!” the woman yells to cut Dick off.
“No, I…”
“Give it back! ”
Dick has really good reflexes. He’s an acrobat, it’s a requirement, and it’s been trained into him since before he could walk.
But this lady’s genuine anger surprises him enough that when she yanks her purse from his arms, he loses his balance and falls backward. He stops his fall with his hands and whimpers when his wrist protests the impact.
Tears pool in his eyes and panic is trying to push through but just then he hears: “HEY!”
Tim
Tim blinks slowly, head turned just enough that he can keep an eye on Dick. The boy is so tiny amongst the adults around him and Tim has to smile. That Dick is a ray of sunshine started as a joke when Bruce first brought him to the Manor three years ago but their youngest brother has shown time and time again that the description is quite accurate.
He’s tired enough that he doesn’t see her before he hears “That’s my purse!” He’s already on his feet but then the woman continues with: “You stole my purse!” and “Give it back!” and in the next second, Dick is on the floor.
“HEY!” Jason’s cry is outraged as the two of them rush to Dick’s aid. “What the hell is your problem?!” Jason says while Tim kneels down next to Dick. “He’s eleven!”
“He stole my purse!” the woman snaps.
“He did not, he was returning it to the reception because your dumb ass forgot it behind!”
“I did not forget it, I left it there to save my seat!”
“Well, that’s just stupid. How was he supposed to know?”
“I didn’t expect there to be filthy children that steal purses in the lobby of this hotel!” the woman huffs. “I bet he already went through it, too,” she says as he opens the purse to check the contents.
“He did not…”
“My phone!” the woman then screeches. Tim groans. “My phone’s gone! You little thief, where is it?!”
“I - I don’t…” Dick starts but then gasps in pain when Tim tries to help him stand by his arm. He cradles his wrist to his chest and Tim sees red.
“He’s hurt!” he interrupts the woman’s demands for his phone. The look in Jason’s eyes turns murderous. “He didn’t steal your purse and he doesn’t have your phone! He was just trying to help and now his wrist might be broken!”
“The boy fell by accident,” the woman says.
“Oh, don’t even start, we saw what happened!”
“Where is my phone then, hm?” the woman asks, ignoring Tim’s accusation. “He had my purse, my phone was in my purse and now it’s not. Where is it? Give it back or I’m calling the cops!”
Dick’s lip starts to quiver. “I didn’t take it,” he says quietly. “I didn’t! Tim, I didn’t, I promise, I…”
“I know, Baby-bird. I know,” Tim tells him. “Come on, up we get. Carefully, now.”
As soon as they are standing, Tim wraps his arm around Dick’s shoulders and hugs him close. Dick looks miserable, the woman is furious and Jason is barely holding himself back from hitting this woman in the face.
“Jason,” Tim says. “Come on, we need to get ice for Dick’s wrist.”
“You’re not going anywhere until I have my phone!” the woman screams. “Call security, you idiots!” she orders the staff, who until now have been staring, shocked. “I want security and the hotel manager here right. Now.”
“How about the owner?” Jason says then. He’s smirking now.
The woman blinks. “Don’t be stupid, why would…?”
“What’s going on here?”
Tim lets out a breath.
Damian
They hear someone calling for security as soon as they step off the elevator and it’s enough to put them on high alert. They reach the scene quickly and the first thing Damian sees is Dick being hugged by Tim. A few more seconds of observation tell him that Dick’s crying, he’s hurt and definitely upset. Jason and Tim both look like they are seconds away from attacking.
Damian’s blood boils.
“What’s going on here?” Bruce asks. Dick only then realizes they are there and leaves Tim’s hug in favor of Bruce’s arms. Bruce lifts him easily, even though Dick’s getting a big old for it, and Dick buries his face into Bruce’s shoulder.
“I didn’t do anything,” he says. His voice is a bit muffled. “I didn’t steal her purse and I don’t have her phone!”
“He’s telling the truth, Dad, he found her purse and was taking it to the reception,” Tim says.
“Of course he’s telling the truth,” Damian says. “Do you care to explain why my 11-year-old brother is hurt and crying?” he asks the woman, who is now staring wide-eyed at Bruce.
“I - I - I mean, he had it and I…”
“Started throwing around accusations?” Damian guesses.
“She pushed him,” Jason growls.
“I did not push him!”
“Same difference, he fell because of you!”
“He wouldn’t give me my purse back!”
“You didn’t give him a fucking chance!”
“Enough!” Bruce snaps and even the woman falls silent. Two security guards have now reached the scene as well and it’s clear they are waiting for Bruce to give them instructions. “I believe my sons. Dick is too good of a kid to steal and, as you have probably guessed by now, he would have absolutely no reason to steal your purse.”
“No reason, maybe, but his kind just likes it,” the woman says and it’s as if Bruce grows two inches.
“His kind ?” Damian repeats quietly, dangerously, at the same time as Dick says: “My kind? Does she mean acrobats?”
Oh, he’s too innocent.
“Damian,” Bruce says in that tone that says ‘keep it together’. Damian wants to argue, both his father and the woman, but then Bruce hands Dick to him. His brother clings to him with both arms and legs and Damian wraps his arms around his torso.
“Could you send someone to this woman’s room to make sure she didn’t leave her phone there?” Bruce tells the front desk staff, one of whom immediately picks up the phone to most likely call the housekeeping. “Do you have a first-aid kit? I need an ice pack for my son’s wrist,” he asks the security guards who seem all too happy to leave the scene. “As for you…”
“Mr. Wayne?” the staff member on the phone says before Bruce can address the woman. “They found her phone. They are bringing it down.”
“Well then,” Bruce says and Damian recognizes that tone. He smirks and sees how both Jason and Tim relax, too. It’s the Overprotective-Dad tone. “Thank you,” he says to the security guard who brings him the first-aid kit. “Boys. Why don’t you go find us some seats from the pool’s restaurant and wrap Dick’s wrist? I’ll follow you once I’ve settled things here.”
“I wanted to go to the beach!” Dick whines.
“We’ll see how your wrist feels later, okay?” Bruce replies. Dick frowns and buries his nose into Damian’s shoulder. Damian knows he’s hiding his upset tears, and he feels a sudden urge to take the purse back from the woman and dump it in the pool.
(He actually feels like doing something a whole lot worse, but he’s trying to suppress such violent thoughts.)
“ Boys .”
Damian and Tim start to leave without further arguing. Jason, however, stays put.
“Jay?” Tim says but Jason just shakes his head. Damian knows he has more issues with high society than his older brothers, which isn’t surprising given the differences in their upbringing, and most likely wants to stay to make sure the lady gets what she deserves.
When Bruce doesn’t urge Jason to join his brothers, Damian, Tim, and Dick leave the lobby to go to the pool. The instruction to find an empty table is a bit silly as the hotel always leaves their favorite table free when Bruce (and/or one or more of his sons) stay there. The table is relatively private with a view of the ocean rather than the pool itself. Damian orders himself and Dick some iced tea while Tim gets a large, iced Latte and then Damian opens the kit to tend to Dick’s wrist.
“Ow,” Dick complains quietly when Damian inspects the damage.
“It’s not broken,” Damian says. “Just bruised.”
“Hurts, though,” Dick mumbles.
“I know.”
Gently, Damian wraps some gauze around Dick’s wrist while Tim breaks the solution in the ice pack to make it cold. Together, they wrap the pack on Dick’s wrist just as their drinks arrive. There’s a little elephant head decorating Dick’s straw and whether it’s good customer service or an attempt to suck up to the owner, Damian doesn’t care, because it makes Dick smile.
“Thank you!” he chirps to the waitress who smiles brightly in return with ‘I hope you feel better soon’.
Bruce and Jason join them when Dick is about half-way through his tea and on the first stages of a sugar high. Bruce orders them the lunch menu and offers Dick a small smile when the boy introduces him to his new elephant friend.
“You okay?” Bruce asks Damian quietly when they get their meals. Damian pokes at his avocado pasta and shrugs. “I got her kicked out.”
“Good.”
“But?”
Damian sighs. He sometimes thinks that the Justice League should allow normal humans to join because he doubts any of the aliens or meta-humans or… goddesses have his father’s observation skills.
“He shouldn’t have to deal with people like that,” he says quietly, looking at Dick who’s rolling his own pasta with a help of a spoon, just like Alfred has taught him.
“No, he shouldn’t,” Bruce replies.
“He’s not… tough. The way I am. Or Jason. Or even Timothy, in his own way.”
“Do you want him to be?”
“No,” Damian says. “Sometimes, I just… I wish I could borrow Wonder Woman’s shield and hide him behind it.”
“I know how you feel,” Bruce says. “I feel that way about all four of you.”
“I don’t need…”
“It’s a Dad thing,” Bruce cuts Damian off. “No matter how tough you are, I’ll always wish there was a way to shield you from the… nastier side of life.”
“Tt.”
Damian allows his father to squeeze his shoulder before returning to his own meal. Gingerly, Damian finally starts to eat, too, and the pasta is good enough to distract him for the moment, though far from Alfred’s cooking.
As he observes Dick through the lunch, it becomes apparent that this incident has scarred him more than the boy himself.
He supposes that’s a good thing.
The Bullies
Tim
Tim knows something is wrong the second he sees Dick. His shoulders are slumped, he’s dragging his feet, and the corners of his lips are down. He doesn’t look up from his shoes until he hears Tim’s: “Hey, buddy,” and instead of a delighted smile that Tim had been hoping for, Dick greets him with a frown.
“Tim? What are you doing here?”
“Bruce kicked me out of the office. Apparently, I’m ‘working too hard’”, Tim said, using air quotes. “Figured I’d used the extra time to hang out with my favorite brother. Wanna go get some ice cream?”
For a second, Dick’s eyes light up. He deflates just as quickly and says: “Alfred won’t like that And I have a lot of homework.”
“Oh.” Something is very wrong. Dick does not turn out ice cream. “That sucks. Let’s just head home then, huh? I can help you with your homework.”
“That’s okay,” Dick says as they get in the car. “You don’t have to.”
“Well, that’s the cool thing about free will, isn’t it. I know I don’t have to,” Tim replies. “I want to.”
“Mm.”
As they drive home, Tim spends a dangerously long time glancing at the rearview mirror instead of looking at the road. Dick is staring out of the window with his chin in his hand, eyes somewhere much further than the trees on the side of the road. He wants to ask what’s wrong, but he knows Dick will answer ‘nothing’ and the conversation will not go anywhere from there.
Dick is like an open book - as long as you find the right key to open the lock.
As soon as they are home, Dick heads upstairs without saying anything. Tim calls that he’ll be right there to his retreating back and Dick merely waves his hand dismissively as a response. Tim goes to the kitchen where he finds Alfred chopping vegetables for dinner. The butler offers him a ‘Master Tim’ before turning back to his task.
“Hey, Al,” Tim says slowly. “I know there’s a strict no sugar before dinner policy but I think I might have a special circumstance to deal with.”
“Oh?” Alfred says. He puts a handful of chopped carrots into a pot.
“Has Dick been… okay?” Tim asks.
“How do you mean?”
“He was just really subdued. He didn’t even want to go for ice cream. Don’t look at me like that,” Tim says when Alfred gives him a stern look. “I haven’t been home for like two weeks. I wanted to make it up to him.”
Alfred shakes his head and picks up the knife to cut celery. “I have noticed that he’s been a bit quiet lately. Master Bruce and I merely thought he was missing you and Master Damian. That is what he claimed when Master Bruce asked him. If he didn’t cheer up when he saw you… Well. Then you might be right. This might be a special circumstance.”
Alfred puts the knife down and washes his hands before getting out a pot, some milk, dark cocoa powder, and sugar. Tim finds their emergency stack of marshmallows while the hot chocolate is on the stove. He thanks Alfred when it’s done and carries two steaming cups upstairs.
“Dick?” He gives Dick's door a kick as a knock. “Dick, I’m carrying a tray, can you come open the door?” No response. “Dick? You in there?”
When Dick still doesn’t reply, Tim sets the tray on the floor and opens the door. The room is empty, in that cold way that suggests Dick has not even been there since coming home.
“Shit,” Tim mumbles. “Dick? Come on, buddy, where are you?”
He checks Bruce’s room first but it’s empty, too. He hesitates before opening Damian’s door, as his oldest brother is famously private, but is happy that he does because he finds Dick sitting with his back against the side of Damian’s bed. He’s going through one of Damian’s old sketchbooks and doesn’t look too alarmed about being discovered in the one room Tim has always been taught is off-limits. Even now, Tim is a little apprehensive when he steps in.
“Hey,” he says quietly. “Watcha doing in here?”
Dick shrugs. “Nothing.” He doesn’t protest when Tim sits down next to him.
“Do you come here often?” Tim asks.
Dick shrugs again. “Just when I…”
“Miss him?” Tim finishes when Dick sighs. “He’ll be home soon, you know.”
“I know,” Dick says.
“Were you disappointed? When it was me and not him?”
“No.”
“It’s okay, Dick. I know he’s your favorite.”
“I don’t have a favorite,” Dick denies. “And I wasn’t disappointed.”
“Yeah, well,” Tim says. He’s not sure if he believes Dick. “You’re his favorite.”
“You said I was your favorite.”
“You are. And Jason’s, too,” Tim says and ruffles Dick’s hair. “You have us all wrapped around your pinky finger.”
A ghost of a smile lifts the corner of Dick’s mouth. It disappears quickly.
“Is that why you’re upset? Because you miss Damian?”
“I’m not…”
“Dick.”
For a moment, it looks like Dick might get up and leave. Then, slowly, he rolls up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a bandaged elbow.
“How did that happen?” Tim asks. Dick mumbles something too quietly for Tim to hear. “What was that?”
“I was pushed.”
Instantly, Tim feels angry. He schools his expression to appear normal in order not to scare Dick and asks: “By whom?”
“Just some… bullies.”
“Why didn’t anyone call Bruce?”
“Because I told them I fell from the monkey bars,” Dick says.
And yeah, Tim understands why the teachers would believe that. “When did this happen?”
“Today.”
“But…” Tim starts. “Alfred says you’ve been off for a while.”
“Alfred worries too much.”
“Bruce noticed, too.”
Dick squeezed Damian’s sketchbook a little harder. “I’m fine.”
“You’re obviously not and I’m starting to think it’s not because you miss Damian or myself.”
“I do, though.”
“Why aren’t we having ice cream right now, then?” Dick squirms. “Dick? Tell me what’s going on, please?”
“It’s just… some kids. They… say things.”
“Like what?”
“That… that you just… pretend. That we’re not really a… family. That we’re not…”
“Brothers?”
Dick nods.
“They’re wro…”
“I try not to listen but… they make it sound like it makes sense. That you… you pretend so that Bruce doesn’t… disown you or something. They say I’m like a spare part. To be the cute one now you three have grown up.”
“Dick, that’s not…”
“They call me names, too. They say Bruce would never have taken someone like me in if it didn’t make him look good to the press.”
“They used to say that to me, too.” Tim jumps. Jason’s standing in the doorway with the cups Tim left outside Dick’s door. “I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t let it all just roll off my back.”
“What did you do?” Dick asks.
“Got into a couple of fights. Broke a rich kid’s nose.”
Dick gasps. “You didn’t!”
“I did. I was suspended for two weeks. It was worth it, though, to see the look on that kid’s face when I returned, officially adopted,” Jason says.
Tim sees something flash in his youngest brother’s eyes. “I’m not, though,” he murmurs. “Adopted.”
Jason sits down, too. “You said you didn’t want to be adopted,” he says. “Have you changed your mind?”
Dick shrugs one shoulder. “I don’t think Bruce…”
“Bruce has had the paperwork ready ever since he first brought you home front he juvie,” Tim tells him. “It was always your choice.”
“Really?” Dick asks, eyes wide.
“ Yes ,” Tim says. “And even if you decide that you never want to be adopted, that doesn’t make us any less of a family. Slightly dysfunctional and not without its issues but a family nonetheless. You are our little brother whether the law sees it that way or not.”
“But if I wanted the law… to see it. All I would have to do is…?”
“Tell him,” Jason says. “Tell him you want to be adopted and he’ll take you to the courthouse tomorrow.”
“Don’t do it just because of the bullies, though,” Tim says. “What I say stands and you’re not a lesser part of this family even if you remain as a ward.”
Dick’s quiet for a long moment. He takes a cup of now cooled hot chocolate from Jason and takes a sip while ponders over his thoughts. Tim doesn’t protest when Jason starts to drink from the cup that was supposed to be his.
“I really don’t have a favorite,” Dick finally says. “I don’t think any of you do, either.”
He turns the book around.
Tim blinks.
It’s a pencil drawing of himself and Jason, younger, when they didn’t have Dick yet. He knows it’s a replica of a photo taken by Alfred, of the two of them cuddled close on the couch. Bruce is in the original photo, too, but Damian has opted to leave him out and focus on his brothers.
“Huh,” is the only comment Jason offers. Tim wants to say more but can’t quite find the words.
And then Dick asks; “Do you know where in the office Bruce keeps the papers?
Jason
That night during dinner, Jason and Tim try to keep up such awkward small talk that Bruce frowns at them the whole time. Finally, when Jason asks Tim what his favorite sort of weather was, Bruce asks: “Alright, what’s going on? Did you crash one of the cars or something?”
It’s involuntary how Jason glances at Dick, who’s been sitting quietly in his seat during the whole dinner. Bruce is nothing if not observant so though Jason quickly turns his eyes back to his plate, Bruce’s attention has already turned to the youngest.
“Dick?”
“I went into your office,” Dick blurts out.
Bruce raises his eyebrows. “I did not think there was anything there that would interest you,” he says.
Dick pushes his beans across his plate and doesn’t reply. Jason can almost hear his heartbeat and can only imagine what the poor boy is thinking.
“If I were to crash a car,” he says to break the tension. “It’d be the minivan. Why do we even have a minivan?”
“So that we have a car Bruce can give to you when you go to college,” Tim replies. “What? You thought you’d get one of the sports cars?”
“I drive them to school every day!”
“Yeah, when you have to drive them back in the afternoon and don’t have time to hide the damage.”
“I am an excellent drive, unlike you Mr. Drive With My Eyes Closed for 300 Feet Once.”
“And even then, I didn’t crash.”
“Quiet, you two,” Bruce cuts off their banter. “Chum? What’s going on?”
“I…” Dick starts. He looks up to Tim and then Jason, who gives him a small nod of encouragement. “I went in to get these.”
He gets off his seat and pulls out the adoption papers from under his shirt where he hid them. He walks to where Bruce is sitting at the end of the table and places the papers in front of him.
If Jason is not totally mistaken, he sees Bruce’s eyes well up.
“Really?”
Dick nods. “Really.”
“But why now?”
“Because we’re already a family,” Dick says. “My parents… I think they would be happy for me.”
“Of course they would,” Jason, Tim, and Bruce all say at the same time, causing Dick to giggle. Bruce pulls him up to sit in his lap, which gets increasingly awkward as Dick gains height (which in his case is a slow but still a sure progress).
“We can go down to the courthouse tomorrow if you want,” Bruce says.
“Told ya,” Jason says.
“I want to wait until Damian comes home,” Dick tells them. “It’s only a couple of more weeks, right?”
“Whatever you want, chum,” Bruce promises him. “Alfred!” he says when the butler comes in. “We are celebrating.”
“So I see,” Alfred says when he sees the papers. “Let’s see what I can do.”
Even Alfred can’t perform miracles on such short notice but the caramel sauce and the homemade vanilla ice cream they always have in the freezer still make Jason moan as he takes a bite.
“I take it back,” Dick says through his own mouthful. “Alfred’s my favorite.”
Jason flicks a raspberry at his head.
A little later, Dick tells Bruce about the bullying. While the two of them talk it through, Jason elbows Tim to the ribs. When Tim turns to ask him ‘what the hell?’ he simply shows him his phone, where he’s pulled Damian’s contact.
Tim nods and Jason types Damian a quick message: “We have some bullies to educate.”
Damian
He makes sure the timing is perfect. He makes sure he looks intimidating enough that no one approaches them. He makes sure they are seen by as many people as possible as they wait for their youngest brother to emerge from the school building.
When he does, he spots the three of them immediately and his face breaks into a grin that rivals the sun.
“Damian!!”
Damian catches him mid-jump and manages not to stumble as a pair of legs wrap around his torso. He smirks in satisfaction when a group of boys Dick’s age and slightly older stop and stare, in resentment and wonder in equal measure.
“You’re home!”
“Yes,” Damian says. “And you’re using quite a lot of your allotted cuddling time.”
“Nice try, we know you’re a big softie,” Jason says in a mocking tone. “We’ve seen the evidence.”
“What are you heathen talk…?”
“Can we go for ice cream?” Dick cuts him off, pulling back to look Damian in the eye. “We have to call Bruce, though.”
“Father is already waiting for us,” Damian tells him. “At the courthouse. You’re going to be adopted today.”
He says it loud enough that everyone, especially the boys he has almost certainly identified as the bullies his brothers informed him about, hear him. When he first received the message, he had to remind himself that he is above violence against children, no matter how ill-mannered. Jason had almost convinced him that his plan to simply humiliate them was too gentle but Tim had chimed in as the voice of reason and the three of them settled on making sure that the bullies could guess how far the three of them would go to protect Dick without actually showing them.
No one would ever doubt Dick’s place in the Wayne family ever again.
The Creep
Jason
Jason hates these events but seeing as Bruce had arranged this one to help the kids in Crime Alley, he figured he should at least make an appearance. He glares at Tim who lifts his glass of champagne at him from across the room - had this been just a family gathering then he could be having his own class, too. But with the press and members of high society present, his 20-year-old ass was stuck with non-alcoholic apple cider instead.
Bruce is lost somewhere in the crowd while Dick and Damian make small talk with a group of elderly women. Jason certainly doesn’t mind being left alone and finds entertainment from guessing what one of the ladies could have possibly said to make Dick’s smile so strained and Damian’s slip altogether. What he doesn’t find entertaining, however, is the way certain people look at this younger brother.
It’s not that Jason, Damian, or Tim are not good looking - certainly not. Damian’s basically a copy of Bruce with darker skin, Tim is a perfect example of a well-bred gentleman, and Jason knows he’s the ‘ruggedly handsome’ of the bunch. Now that Dick has lost most of his baby fat and grown more than a few inches, though, it is becoming evident that he will be the ultimate heartbreaker.
It wouldn’t be a problem if everyone else hadn’t noticed, too.
Jason watches as Dick excuses himself and starts to head towards the restrooms. Jason puts down his now empty glass and goes to follow him because he knows Dick sometimes uses the restroom excuse to find a secluded corner where he can take a few breaths. His hunch is right and he finds Dick in a pretty well-hidden alcove that Jason remembers also using when he was younger.
“Wanna be alone?” is the first thing he asks as he himself would want to be left alone. When it comes to being social, Dick is quite his opposite, and the younger shakes his head so Jason sits down next to him.
“I’m fine,” Dick says before Jason asks. “It’s just…”
“Crowded. Yeah.”
“No, I don’t mind the crowd. The old lady, she just…” Dick sighs. “She just said something about having a granddaughter my age. Apparently, we should meet.”
Jason grunts. He has been lucky to avoid any eager matchmakers but he supposes it has something to do with being suspended for breaking someone's nose when he was younger. Not exactly the kind of husband material that millionaires are looking for.
“It’s not that I find girls icky anymore. But these people are not just joking, they are actually looking for best matches for their children and grandchildren and I find that icky.”
“It is icky,” Jason agrees. “You know you don’t have to come to these things if you let Bruce know you’re uncomfortable.”
Dick shrugs. “I don’t usually mind. The food is good.”
The food is good because Jason had once declared, rather loudly, that caviar was disgusting, after which Bruce had agreed to have a selection of slightly more kid-friendly food as an option.
“Still,” he says with a pat on Dick’s shoulder. “Don’t think you’re obligated to show your face at these things. Just because Damian feels like he has to and Tim uses these things to sniff out business opportunities doesn’t mean that the two of us can’t skip them or…” Jason looks around as if to make sure no one is listening and then leans closer to Dick to whisper: “...leave early and get some burgers.”
Dick looks a bit skeptical but there’s a glint in his eyes that tells Jason that he’s intrigued. “Won’t we get in trouble?”
“Of course we won’t. I do it all the time,” Jason says. “Go let Tim or Bruce know that we’re leaving. I’ll meet you by the front steps.”
“Where are you going?” Dick asks as he gets up to leave.
“I need to relieve myself before we go. It’s a long drive to the nearest burger joint that doesn’t expect us to eat with a knife and fork.”
Dick cackles and turns right from the alcove while Jason turns left to go to the restroom. He concludes his business there quickly, already yearning for a good old fashioned chocolate shake. What he sees when he exits makes him freeze in his tracks.
It is said that when people are angry, they see red. Jason sees green. Literally. As if his brain gives him permission to lose his shit.
He’s not sure what happens in the next few seconds.
Dick
Several things happen in the next few seconds.
One moment, he’s pinned against the wall by a man whose breath smells of whiskey, and the next, the man is being yanked back by an absolutely enraged Jason.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” his older brother yells.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the man gaggles. “Is he yours?”
His gaggles are cut short when Jason lands an expert punch on his nose. He falls on his back to the ground and Jason steps forward - to do what, Dick is not sure - but then a pair of arms circle around his shoulders and hold him back while Dick is suddenly being pulled further away by his arm. It takes him a couple of seconds to realize it’s Tim.
“Jason!” Bruce, who struggles to control Jason, exclaims. “What the hell, Jason, calm down!”
“You fucker!” Jason screams as if he can’t even hear Bruce. Dick has seen his brother lose it like this only a couple of times and this time is not any less scary. “You keep your hands to yourself, you fucking creep!”
“We’ll remove him from the party, Jason, he won’t touch you aga…”
“He wasn’t touching me!”
Dick feels himself blush as all eyes suddenly turn to him. Tim’s hold of his arm tightens to almost painful while Damian steps forward to block the man from Dick’s vision.
“Dick?”
Bruce is still holding Jason back but he’s looking at Dick for confirmation, his voice almost scared. Dick opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, and then says: “I - he - cornered me but… Jason…”
“He’s 15!” Jason spits at the man who is struggling to get up now.
“He’s lying!” the man says. “You both are!”
“There are 10 security cameras in this hallway alone,” Damian says. His tone promises pain. “We can check that claim easily enough.”
“He - well, he… He came onto me!”
“Jason!” Bruce grunts when Jason nearly escapes his hold. “It’s not worth it. We’ll send the security footage to Gordon.”
“You can’t!” the man says. “You can’t! I’m… I’ve been drinking, I didn’t think…!”
“Obviously,” Damian says.
“I don’t care how drunk you are. Touch any of my sons - or any person here for that matter - without their consent and I’d have you thrown out and excluded from all future events. Dick, however, is a minor. You can expect a visit from the police soon. And I’ll have you know that it’s only because I don’t want Jason to join you in jail that I am holding him back.”
Dick can see that Bruce means it.
“I’ll be ruined!” the man wails. “You can’t, I will lose…”
“You are already ruined,” Tim says. “You can kiss that contract with Wayne Enterprises goodbye, Mr. Morgan.”
The man - Mr. Morgan - blinks as he looks at Tim, then Damian, and finally Bruce. Dick can see how the gravity of his mistake sinks in and he suddenly dashes. The crowd that has gathered parts like the Red Sea and lets him go, either confident that he will face justice or not willing to get involved.
Then Bruce is standing in front of Dick, puts hands on his cheeks, and turns his face this way and that as if looking for visible signs of damage.
“I’m okay,” Dick says. “He just… fixed my collar. Pinned me. Jason pulled him off before he could really do anything.”
“We are leaving,” Bruce announces gruffly. “Jason?”
Jason is still heaving and looks like he’s not really present. Dick wants to hug him but he’s still being kept in place by Tim and now Bruce, too.
“I’ve got him,” Damian says. He puts an arm around Jason’s shoulder and starts leading him towards the exit. Dick, Bruce, and Tim follow them.
Dick’s not sure who called Alfred or how he is already here, but the car is waiting outside with the butler holding the backdoor open for them. They get in and are driving away a few short seconds later.
Tim takes out his phone and starts typing furiously, a frown on his face. “What are you doing?” Dick asks.
“Making sure Mr. Morgan regrets what he did in more ways than one.”
Dick sighs. “Guys, he didn’t actually manage…”
“He actually managed to do way too much considering should not have done anything,” Damian cuts him off. “I do not wish to frighten you, Richard, but I am glad Jason showed up when he did.”
“I hope you broke his nose,” Tim murmurs without looking up from his phone.
Dick leans a little closer against Bruce and turns to look at Jason, who’s sitting on his other side. His eyes are closed and his hands are in fists. “Are you okay, Jason?”
Jason grunts and that’s all the reply Dick gets. Bruce reaches for the little compartment between the seats and takes out a small first-aid kit. “Which hand?” he asks when he takes out the ice pack and wordlessly, Jason gives him his right one.
Bruce places the pack on Jason’s knuckles but it’s Dick who keeps it in place. “Reminds me of that time at the beach,” he says quietly. “Jason, I… Thank you.”
Jason sighs and finally opens his eyes. “Anything for you, little brother,” he says.
Tim and Damian hum in agreement while Bruce hugs Dick tighter to his side.
Dick feels safe.
The Press
Damian
Damian hears them before they come in.
“Jason! Stop, for heaven’s sake, you can’t…!”
“The fuck I can’t!”
And then Jason storms into his office, followed by Tim who looks beyond annoyed. It’s only due to years of practice that Damian manages to keep himself from kicking the two of them out immediately.
Besides, he’s pretty sure he already knows what this is about.
“Have you seen this?”
Jason shoves his phone into Damian’s face, confirming the oldest brother’s suspicion. “I have,” he says shortly.
“And?” Jason prompts. “What are we going to do about it?”
“Father has already taken all the necessary steps, we just…”
“I don’t care about the necessary steps! What are we - as in the three of us - going to do about it?”
Damian pushes the phone away. “You suggest we punch the reporter and ruin his career?” he asks. He’s only slightly sarcastic.
“That’s the least he deserves.”
“We are not going to throw punches at someone who was just doing his job. I don’t condone it!” Tim says quickly when Jason practically growls. “He should have known better and Bruce will make sure the press is reminded that Dick is still off-limits. It’s not like Wally’s aunt is happy about this either, the two of them will surely put the fear of God in tabloid owners again.”
“There, see?” Damian says. “If anyone knows how to threaten the press it’s an angry Iris West. We can just sit back and watch her work.”
“You are not serious,” Jason says. “Tell me you’re not pissed off! Your precious baby brother is the hottest gossip of today and it doesn’t bother you? They practically outed him!”
“Which is why Father left early to pick Richard up from school,” Damian replies. “I am well aware of the gravity of this situation but I don’t see how freaking out about it is going to help anyone.”
“Well, it helps me!” Jason exclaims. “They have no right to publish pictures of him holding hands with his boyfriend when he hasn’t officially come out yet! We should do something to let them know we’re not going to take this lying down!”
“We are not taking this lying down. Didn’t Timothy just tell you that Father and Iris are both on the case?”
“Yes, but…”
“Jason, it… It really should be Dick’s choice, if he wants the three of us to get involved. It was his privacy that was violated,” Tim says.
“But Bruce…”
“Dick’s a minor and Bruce is his parent, of course he will step in. But if we go on our rampage, we just bring more attention to the whole situation. Dick might not thank us for it.”
“Listen to the practical one, since you only seem to be able to think with your muscles,” Damian says. When Jason still looks like he’s ready to explode, Damian adds: “Obviously, I am pissed. Believe me, I would very much like to smash every camera that ever takes an unwanted picture of him but the… truth… is that we can’t protect him from everything.”
Admitting that leaves a sour taste in Damian’s mouth.
Grumbling, Jason sits down. For a second, Damian’s mind flashes back to a much younger Jason, who Bruce sometimes left in his office for Damian to watch over, and who used to drive Damian nuts by playing merry-go-round with the expensive chair. He does that now, too, clearly more out of habit than the childish need to make a plaything out of everything.
“I’m coming home tonight,” Jason says.
“Thought you might. I’ll inform Alfred.”
“Already did.”
“I should be able to leave within an hour. I can dri…”
“I have my bike,” Jason rejects Tim’s offer. “No, I won’t go storming in the Gotham’s Gossip office,” he says when both Damian and Tim give him a skeptical look. “It clears my head.”
“Hm. I’ll see you in a few hours then. Now, leave. I have actual work to do.”
Jason gets up and follows Tim out of the office. Before the door closes, Damian can hear him say: “What if I just accidentally go scratch their cars?”
Sighing, Damian clicks his computer screen to life. The violating pictures come up in an instant, causing a surge of rage to flare in Damian’s stomach. The headline reads: THE YOUNGEST WAYNE IS GAY?? as if it has not long ago been established that none of the Wayne boys are only attracted to women.
And that includes Bruce.
When these pictures had first been brought to Damian’s attention, he had very much been inclined to do exactly what Jason had been inclined to do. Bruce had managed to talk sense into him the same way he and Timothy had talked sense into Jason but that doesn’t mean Damian had not spent half the day unable to get any work done. Surprisingly, his faith in humanity had somewhat been restored by the comments under the article, the place where people usually felt they could say all the nasty things that they’d never say with their own name.
Take them down! Have you no shame???
He’s not even 18 yet! Just because his dad is famous gives you no right to post pictures like this! Jesus Christ, seriously!
Well, to be fair, he’s in a public place…
- PUBLIC PLACE???? THAT’S THE PENTHOUSE TERRACE! THAT’S PRIVATE PROPERTY! HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO TRUST THAT HE’S SAFE THERE!!!
If I had any respect for the Gotham Gossip before, I have certainly lost all of it now.
I hope Bruce Wayne sues your ass to bankruptcy.
Who even cares if he’s gay or whatever!
Whoever okayed for these pictures to be published certainly just ruined their career.
- I hope they are scared of showing their face in public.
Dishonor! Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow…!
Damian doesn’t know what the last comment means but can certainly agree that dishonor is the least that Gotham Gossip deserves. He knows his mind won’t let him do anything productive anymore so he turns his computer off completely and gets up.
“I’m leaving,” he tells Tim as he passes by his office. “Are you coming to the Manor tonight, too?”
“Yeah,” Tim sighs. “Might as well.”
“You can drive with me. Father or I will give you a ride tomorrow.”
Tim doesn’t protest. It’s obvious there’s a pile of work that he’s ignored, too, but he gets up anyway, and together, the two of them make their way to the car.
The drive home is silent. When they reach the Manor, Damian lets Tim out of the car before driving to the underground garage where Jason’s bike is already parked. He comes upstairs to find his brothers and Bruce all in the living room. He can’t honestly say he’s surprised that Dick seems to be the least upset.
“Good, you are all here,” Dick says when Damian comes in. He stands up and goes to stand in front of the television as if he’s about to give a presentation. “First of all, I am absolutely, 100% okay. I am not happy that our private moment has been shared with the world but I knew this might happen and I made sure everyone in my school knew before the press did. I warned Wally when he asked me out that this was a possibility. We had a really long talk about it. He still decided to date me. We don’t care that everyone knows now. We would have preferred for it to happen on our terms but we can’t put spilled milk back in the bottle and we’d just like to move on. Please?”
The room is quiet for several moments. Then, Jason says: “Fuck. You’re growing up.”
“I am,” Dick confirms. “So, do you promise you will not do anything?”
“Ugh, fine,” Jason groans.
“Of course, Dick. Whatever you want,” Tim says.
“Good. Thank you.” Dick turns to Damian. “Damian?”
“Hey!” Jason says when Damian doesn’t immediately reply. “You two told me to keep it cool!”
“We did,” Damian says. “I hope you know, Richard, what we would be willing to do for you.”
“I do know. And I love you guys for it but this time, it’s enough that I know. You don’t have to demonstrate. I don’t want you to demonstrate.”
“Alright then. I trust Father to have everything under control anyway,” Damian says. Bruce hums his confirmation. “I’ll come down for dinner then.”
Once in private, it takes Damian a considerable amount of willpower to not punch a hole through the wall. He had maybe, secretly, hoped that Dick would beg for them to raise havoc, to storm the offices of Gotham Gossip, to ruin the reputations of every paparazzi in town. Doing nothing is not something Damian does well, no matter how old he gets.
The pictures are taken down and Damian’s need for revenge is somewhat satisfied a few days later, when someone hacks the Gossip’s website, turning every article into gibberish and all advertisements to pictures of bats and birds. Why bats and birds, Damian doesn’t know, but Dick looks all too pleased during dinner for Damian to think the hacker could have been anyone other than him.
Maybe, just maybe , he texts Jason and Tim. Our little brother can protect himself .
( Doesn’t mean I won’t wrap in bubble wrap the next time something like this happens , is the reply he gets.)